1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communication devices, communication methods, programs, and recording media. More particularly, the present invention relates to a communication device and a communication method capable of authenticating target devices and users connected to the communication device via a network, a program, and a recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, an application of mobile devices, such as digital still cameras, camcorders, mobile phones, for image data exchange has been suggested. More specifically, mobile devices constitute an ad-hoc network using a wireless local area network (LAN) compliant with a standard, such as IEEE (institute of electrical and electronics engineers) 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, or IEEE 802.11g, and Bluetooth, and image data stored in a mobile device is disclosed to target users, whereby the image data can be exchanged.
In such a case, a function for controlling disclosure permission set for files or folders for each target user who receives the disclosure is desired. Accordingly, it is necessary to perform data access control for each target user who receives the disclosure.
Such data access control methods include a method for performing access control on a device-by-device basis. In this method, IDs (Identifications) of target devices are preregistered in a mobile device, and device authentication is performed when the device is connected to a wireless LAN after a user of the device selects the target device from a registration list.
In addition, it is necessary to authenticate each of target users when performing the access control on a user-by-user basis. Technologies for personal identification includes biometrics authentication in which authentication is performed using, for example, fingerprints and vein patterns. Biometrics is used when the device authenticates an owner thereof.
A method in which a face image of an owner of a device is preregistered in the device, and a face image of a user is captured before an operation, and comparison of the captured face image and the registered face image is performed so as to put the device into a usable state is used in a technology for performing authentication using face images.
Furthermore, there is also a method in which authentication can be performed by comparing a preregistered face image and a face image captured at that time to determine whether a user logging in a system is a registered person (see, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2004-005345).
However, when a plurality of users share one device connectable to a wireless LAN (e.g., when a plurality of family members share one device) or when one user temporarily borrows and uses a device belonging to another user, it may be impossible to perform access control for each user using the device.
Embodiments of the present invention are made in view of such circumstances, and allow access control to be performed for each user using a target device or a source device.